No I didn’t post last week. Didn’t have much to say for the blog. Felt like everyone’s attention was elsewhere. My life has been exceptionally hectic lately. When work should be slowing down, 2020 continues to be a wild aberration, and I’m busier at work now than I have been the last 10 months. Go Figure. 2020 is going to be unique all the way til the end.
In another way 2020 is unique; I actually finished the Knitted Star quilt in the duration of the quilt along. Let me say that again. I finished the WHOLE QUILT. Not just the top, didn’t just add something to the binding pile, the whole thing is done. Never in the 30 years have I been quilting, have I actually finished any kind of quilt along during the duration of the project.
I’ve come close, mind you. I’ve finished some tops during the class or the quilt along, but in typical 80% fashion, I still have those tops and they haven’t become quilts. I feel like I have broken through some kind of giant barrier with this. I am WILDLY patting myself on the back. I went into it thinking I might do the lap size, despite really wanting the bed size. Once I got started, I realized I wanted to push myself and I could do it. You all saw the blog post about honing my process to knock out the 18 blocks.
It assembled much faster than I thought it would, helped along by a wonderful program of Julie Walters taking great coastal train journeys in the UK. Lovely scenery and she has a delightful sense of humor. All of a sudden I had a quilt top. Quilting on the long arm has been getting better and better, so I decided to just load it and go for it. I have a lovely aqua paisley on the back (I love aqua and red together) and knocked it out two weekends ago. This weekend I got the binding cut and attached and here we are, talking about a finished quilt.
2020 has had plenty of challenges but I’m also seeing this year as a chance to change some of my patterns and go at things a different way. I have a lovely finished quilt on my bed and I’m very pleased with it. Pleased to the point where I’m actually pondering another one, heaven help me. I hope you take the chance, as 2020 winds down, to look at some of your own patterns that you’d like to change. No better time than in a year that has already broken the mold in so many ways, let’s do some positive breaking too…….
